Beijing - New York in 2 hours: China can make it possible with a new aircraft engine

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In China, an aircraft jet engine has been developed, which in the future will be able to develop aircraft speeds up to Mach 16. Wind tunnel tests have confirmed the unit's unprecedented performance in terms of thrust, economy and stability, according to the South China Morning Post.

The development of the ramjet power plant with oblique detonation (Sodramjet) was carried out by a group of scientists from the Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences under the leadership of Professor Jian Zonglin. During the tests carried out the day before in a powerful wind tunnel, the engineers managed to simulate flight at a speed nine times the speed of sound.



According to the developers, the engine can be installed on transatmospheric aircraft with horizontal takeoff. Such an aircraft will be able to take off from a conventional airport runway and perform hypersonic flight outside the atmosphere. At the same time, due to the ability to reach speeds of up to 16 Mach numbers, the device will take less than two hours to reach any point in the world.

It is worth noting that the idea of ​​a "revolutionary" engine created by Chinese scientists is not new. Back in 1980, NASA engineer Richard Morrison proposed using shock waves from hypersonic flight to push air into a combustion chamber, where it would mix with hydrogen fuel and detonate, creating thrust. However, the idea of ​​the American scientist then remained on paper.
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  1. vit670
    vit670
    0
    3 December 2020 15: 18
    What about us? What are our Skolkovo, Rusnano and other companies doing? It's a shame, you panic, it's a shame for the country ...
    1. orange
      orange
      +3
      3 December 2020 19: 49
      It is doubtful that "tomorrow" the Chinese will have a breakthrough hyperplane. These are abstract studies and they are so far of only symbolic interest. There is a nuance! In order for the sodramzhetny "motor" to work, it must first be accelerated to hypersonic speed. lol To do this, you will need a separate traditional engine or engines, or a solid-fuel accelerator, or a turbojet engine .... it is easy to guess what technological problems are facing designers. We need a glider, coatings, experience in building supersonic airliners of the Tu-144 type. Without such studies, the Chinese resemble the attempts of a cart to drive ahead of a steam locomotive.
  2. Enoch
    Enoch
    0
    3 December 2020 17: 03
    Is it our Oskolkovo?
  3. goncharov.62
    goncharov.62
    0
    3 December 2020 17: 55
    Our detonation engines have been engaged for a long time. And let the Chinese first master the technology of engines of the SU family. Although - they learn quickly, judging by their auto industry. Their cars look more and more like cars. And we still have the same Zhiguli ... In general.
  4. boriz
    boriz
    +2
    4 December 2020 01: 31
    Back in 1980, NASA engineer Richard Morrison proposed using shock waves from hypersonic flight to push air into a combustion chamber, where it would mix with hydrogen fuel and detonate, creating thrust.

    It is unclear how this is fundamentally different from a conventional ramjet engine.
    It is even more incomprehensible how they are going to start from the runway on the ramjet. Here from the quote it is clear that to "push" the air (oxidizer) into the combustion chamber, you need a not weak incoming stream of the same air.
    The principle of ramjet operation has been known for a long time. It did not receive distribution for two reasons:
    1. The engine is almost single-mode. Optimum combustion parameters are observed around a certain speed. This speed is determined by the geometry of the engine.
    2. The engine must first be accelerated to high speed. Otherwise, it simply won't start working. While such engines are used in cruise missiles. Acceleration is carried out with a powder starting accelerator. Or due to the speed of the carrier aircraft.
    How to accelerate the engine in an ordinary plane is not clear. Theoretically, it is possible to accelerate with conventional turbojet engines, but after gaining speed they will turn into unproductive ballast in weight and not weak aerodynamic drag.
    Well, the speed of Mach 16 for a passenger plane is still an unscientific fantasy. I hope everyone represents the bow of the shuttles. It is covered with refractory plates that are checked and changed after every start. It's not fast at all and not very cheap. And whether it will withstand 2 hours is a very open question. Especially for China, which has much less experience in this area than the USSR (RF) and the USA.
    In cruise missiles, the problem of refractoriness is solved simply: the missile flies for a very short time, and then explodes and the state of the heat-resistant coating does not bother anyone.
    For example, I had to see (for a very long time) TTD of some electronic product with the phrase "Warranty service life - 45 minutes." So it is with this coating.
    1. Cetron
      Cetron
      +1
      4 December 2020 20: 55
      So it will be the Beijing-New York subatmospheric cruise missile. There is not a word about back!
      1. boriz
        boriz
        +2
        4 December 2020 21: 01
        Outside the atmosphere, the ramjet engine does not work. Even there.
  5. amateur
    amateur
    +1
    5 January 2021 14: 20
    straight-through air-jet power plant

    hypersonic flight outside the atmosphere.

    Either air-jet or outside the atmosphere. It seems that Chinese scientists have also switched to the Unified State Exam. Or maybe domestic journalists ...